Ennstaler Steirerkas

Appearance & taste

Ennstaler Steirerkas is made into Kasstöcke in the shape of a truncated cone weighing up to 4 kg. The surface is dry, brownish to greyish, with light to heavy green and white mould and covered with map-like drying cracks. Inside, the cheese is marbled, light brownish to brownish grey, grainy or crumbly to moist and crumbly, and run through with light veins of mould.

The specification calls it a crumbly traditional cheese and low-fat cheese with a typical smell and an extremely distinctive taste that ranges from sour and strong and sharp through spicy to pungent. The smell becomes more intense with age: a strong to spicy aroma with an earthy smell and light notes of ammonia. Depending on the weather during production, taste and smell can vary slightly. According to the specification, it is usually seasoned only with salt; traces of pepper, spices, herbs or berries are permitted. The cheese has 0 to 12 % fat in dry matter, 52 to 62 % dry matter and at most 46 % water.

Production

Only cow’s milk from the area is used. From the beginning of May to the end of September or beginning of October, the cows graze mainly on mountain meadows between 500 and 1,800 m above sea level; in winter they are given hay and silage from the area in the shed. At least 60 % of the dry matter of the feed in a year comes from the area. Concentrates may be bought in, because hardly any cereals are grown in the mountain area with its thin layer of humus.

The raw or pasteurised skimmed milk coagulates without rennet, only through lactic acid; if needed, lactic acid bacteria cultures help, for example in bad weather. Colourings and chemical preservatives are prohibited. The sour milk is heated in the cheese kettle to 75 to 100 °C until the curd separates from the whey; this makes the cheese keep for a long time, which is important on the alpine pastures. The acid curd is grated so that it dries more; this produces a very dry curd grain and the crumbly consistency. It ripens under noble mould in well-ventilated ripening rooms or cellars at 6 to 14 °C and 60 to 85 % humidity, often in natural cellars on the alpine pastures. The wheels are turned regularly so that they dry evenly. Milk production, processing and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area is the political district of Liezen in the north-west of Styria. A changeable climate, many types of rock such as mica schist, limestone, dolomite and marble, and numerous landforms and soils make for high biodiversity. With extensive management, considerably more herbs grow on the mountain meadows and pastures than in the valleys.

The knowledge of how to make it has often been passed down in families for generations, and the dairymen and dairywomen of the Enns valley exchange ideas at regular meetings and training courses. The cheese has only been made industrially for a few decades; many steps are still done by hand today. The milk is produced in the area and processed locally or after short journeys.